Making Ukraine energy secure depends on deploying renewable power rather than expanding fossil fuels, according to a group of former elected officials and clean energy advocates.

During Russia’s brutal invasion of the Eastern European republic, Russia has targeted Ukraine’s power grid, destroying fossil fuel and nuclear generators and leaving civilians in the dark. But with private investments, Ukraine is using distributed solar, wind and battery storage to keep services running.

Alexander Romanishyn, former deputy minister of economy in Ukraine, said renewables are making Ukraine energy independent.

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"We are building under the attack the decentralized system. We are building renewables. Because when you hit some parts of the city and distribute some energy resources, you will still be resilient because other distributed energy, solar, winds will still operate," Romanishyn explained.

Romanishyn pointed out Russia has funded its brutal assault by selling oil and natural gas to the international market.

In response, the group Elected Officials to Protect America developed a “Ukraine Energy Security Marshall Plan,” a framework for distributed clean energy across Ukraine. It emphasized microgrids, storage and local energy generation, using international partnerships to design, finance and implement the system.

Speakers at a recent news conference criticized the Trump administration for cutting clean energy programs, including the $7 billion Solar for All initiative.

Paul Foster, a member of Parliament in the United Kingdom and veteran of the first Gulf War and Kosovo, said western nations need to wean themselves off carbon-based energy.

"Fossil fuel dependence is not only a British or American problem, it's a global vulnerability," Foster emphasized. "True sovereignty is impossible for any nation if our collective survival relies on fossil fuel imports and a global commodity market controlled by autocrats."

Ukraine has installed more than 1.5 gigawatts of distributed solar since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Svitlana Romanko, an environmental lawyer, founder and director of the advocacy group Razom We Stand, said everyday Ukrainians are joining the move to local, renewable power.

"Ninety thousand households have found some money, even if you imagine it's hard to do in Ukraine, and they install solar, and they will be able to pay for themselves and be energy independent," Romanko stressed.